Organisers of GroundsFest have announced that free practical training sessions will be available at the event, which takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on 20 – 21 September 2023.
The training will be carried out by Grounds Training – a leading provider of independently accredited education within the sports turf and grounds maintenance sectors. The sessions will be delivered by a fantastic team of Lantra approved instructors which includes Keith Kent, Martin Sampson, Chris Parry, and Steve Potter.
Throughout the two-day event, the Grounds Training programme will include hands-on training sessions on a range of topics including line marking for winter sports and athletics, pedestrian mowers, ride-on mowers, hand held machinery, and the calibration and use of knapsack sprayers and boom sprayers. There will also be a specific management session designed for grounds managers, bursars, club managers and committee chairs.
From management to apprentice, the free training programme will be ideal for all those working in sports turf management, grounds maintenance, greenkeeping, horticulture, landscaping, the maintenance of commercial estates, and local authority parks and green spaces.
Commenting on the training programme at GroundsFest, Martin Sampson, Managing Director of Grounds Training, said: “We’re really excited to be running these hands-on sessions. It’s a great opportunity for visitors to receive an introduction to some of the most popular courses we deliver.
“The Lantra instructors we’ll have at the event have more than 160 years of industry experience between us; we’re all passionate about delivering high-quality education, and sharing our knowledge to inform, encourage and inspire the next generation of grounds professionals. We hope visitors will take the opportunity to build some learning into their time at GroundsFest.”
Event Director Christopher Bassett said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming Grounds Training to GroundsFest. This is an incredible feature which has never been seen at a UK groundscare event and we’re over the moon to have such a superb line-up of instructors delivering the sessions.
“The programme offers visitors a fantastic opportunity to come along and receive some real, hands-on training from qualified instructors for free. We have always promised to give back to the industry and this is just the first step towards achieving this.”